Clash Royale Card Popularity Snapshot – May 2017

Hello! My friends at Starfi.re sent me the Battle Decks from players in the Global Top 200 at the end of last season. I analyzed the decks to produce lists of the most popular cards and decks at the top of the ladder. These lists may help you decide which cards to request from your clanmates, purchase with gold, and ultimately include in your deck.

Card Review

Skeletons surge to the top, joined only by The Log in over half of all top ladder decks! Along with #4 Zap and #8 Ice Spirit, these cards share a low elixir cost, counter a wide array of threats, and promote card cycle for rapid access to a deck’s win condition. The Goblin Gang runs the streets in the new Legendary Arena; the green meanies were a quick favorite for Log-bait players and they continue to grow in popularity.

Knight and Mega Minion have seen greater usage from players seeking a sturdy body to beat up tanks or swipe down small swarms. Elixir Collector has pumped up enthusiasm for the beatdown archetype, enabling heavy decks to soak light attacks and counterpunch for a devastating blow. The resource building’s popularity has sustained the usage of Rocket as a ‘6-for-6’ elixir trade. Hog Rider dipped in usage this season, but has enjoyed play in a variety of decks as a secondary win condition.

Players hold a burning desire for Inferno Tower, despite its drop in usage. 4-cost spells Fireball and Poison also fell, with players seeking a more specialized role for their card slot. Lightning and Arrows both moved up, as did Tornado, a popular option alongside heavy troops that deal splash damage, such as Executioner, Bowler or Baby Dragon. This ample splash damage may be responsible for a small tumble in Goblin Barrel usage.

Musketeer has picked herself up after a stumble last season. Enthusiasm for Three Musketeers has also grown, enough for the trio to be featured as the primary win condition for the most popular deck at the top of the ladder. Minions fell slightly, but are still used in nearly a quarter of all decks. Miner and Giant remain solid options as tanks in control and beatdown decks, respectively.

The Electro Wizard and Skeleton Army were hit quite hard by relatively minor nerfs. They join the legendary Princess and Graveyard in seeing a decline in usage. Recent nerfs to Royal Giant and Elite Barbarians have seen the common win conditions join Mortar in near-obscurity at the top of the ladder. Meanwhile, the minor buffs to Goblin Hut and Executioner haven’t helped much, but Lumberjack has made a decent recovery.

Minion Horde was played this season in a Giant-based deck that uses them to punish an opponent’s misuse of splash damage. Despite their frequent pairing, Balloon lagged behind Lava Hound, which saw experimental use as a tank in primarily ground-based decks. Finally, Golem is still rocking the Arena–often supported by flying troops and causing devastation in double-elixir time.